KRXNLS

Should have remembered! Will go there to do the booking. Thanks.

It's been quite a while since I took advantage of this site but I plan on trying to get a Toronto hotel in the near future. Meantime I'm looking to book the HI Express (at a regular AA rate) and thought I could book through your site so that you would get credit. Is this feature no longer available?

I'm surprised to pay this much - though it still seems like a good deal. I've been trying for about a week and today saw that Hotwire's 4 star, which I thought was the Westin, was reduced to $94.00 so thought I had a pretty good chance. I tried $73 and then $78 and got a "pay $20 more offer" and instead increased by $5.00 to $83 and was succesful. As always, bid through your PRICELINE link. Thanks

First bid $71.00. Immediately recieved an offer to increase by $20.00 Instead I added "Culver City" and bid $76.00 which was accepted. Quite a saving over the offer! Incidentally, this is for a one night stay after arriving from South America and before going home. I've been trying for several days to book the same thing before my flight out for the night of February 8. I've gone as high as $80 with no success. But I'll keep trying as there seems to be lots of availability everywhere. As always, booked through your PRICELINE link. Thanks.

We spent one night at the Marriott Pinnacle Vancouver on a "Priceline" win. We have stayed at this same hotel a couple of times in the past and always enjoyed it. We noticed that it's been a while since a review was written so there should perhaps be an update. Check in was smooth and no "Priceline attitude" here. The hotel is now completely non smoking and we were offered either a "King" or 2 "Queens". Took the King and were very pleasantly surprised to find ourselves in a 2 room suite with a "Peek a Boo harbour" view. Very comfortable and immaculate. Quality bedding including a sheeted duvet and a bathroom with both tub and shower.Had we been staying more than 1 night, we might not have liked the fact that there was no television in the bedroom (flat screen in the living room) . Aveda products in the bathroom, a free bottle of water (I really get bugged when hotels charge me a fortune for water), a small fridge and a coffee maker The hallways have been recarpeted in "splashy" colours and are very attractive. This time we didn't eat in the restauant but it looked good. We did have a drink in the bar which was are only disappointment. No comfortable chairs and tables with chairs that were suitable for dinner but not for relaxing with a pre dinner drink. Too bad! Next time we will go elsewhere for that drink. We took Valet parking which was $32 plus tax. A tad expensive. Non-valet was $26 and, had we looked into it before arriving, we would have gone that route. This is a business hotel so it is in the business district and it can be a bit too quiet on the weekends. However, walk a block or two down to the seawall and enjoy beautiful walking paths and amazing views and walk a couple of blocks in the other direction and you're right in the heart of shopping and entertainment. All in all, a very very nice hotel and, if you are fortunate enough to get it on"Priceline" be very happy!

I won this bid after trying for 2 days without success (up to $112.00) to get accomodation in the entertainment district. I had avoided the downtown area because of the poor reviews of the Renaissance that's now included as a 4 star (used to be 3 + which seems more realistic.) In the downtown area, I bid $85, $90, 95, 100 and finally got a "win" at $102. We have stayed at the Marriot Pinnacle 2 or 3 times in the past but not for a few years and have always been pleased with the service and the room. Hopefully nothing has changed. Booked through the PRICELINE link, of course. I would like to mention that until about 3 years ago, I used this site and all the great help quite a bit. Since then our travel patterns changed and I didn't need to try "Priceline" again until this week. So very glad that all of the excellent help is still there. Thanks.

I tried for this night several times over the past week, starting at $85 and gradually increasing. Tried $99 yesterday, no luck. Tried the same today and was asked to increase by $22.00. Instead I rebid at $105 and was accepted. This isn't a fantastic deal, as a senior I could get a rate of $135Can. for that night still it's nice to save a bit and Victoria 4 stars are always difficult to snag. We really like the Marriot so we're pleased. As always, booked throughSavings Barn.com

Recently stayed here at a Priceline rate of $80 which I thought was a bit high considering the quality of the hotel, although the property was OK for a one night post trip stay. Positives include a very efficient shuttle service from the airport, a friendly and fast check in with a statement that the room was pre-paid but no mention of Priceline . I asked for a non-smoking room which was no problem and was offered a King size room on the ground floor or a room with 2 double beds on the top floor. Took the top floor room and it was a bit worn but clean. There was an ironing board and iron, coffee maker and internet hook up. There was a cigarette burn in the bed quilt - a bit surprising in a non-smoking room. The location is good, in between the Marriott and the Hilton and close to stores and restaurants and there is a pleasant outdoor area. This hotel badly needs a renovation. I understand that it is run by the same company that runs the Richmond Marriott and the Richmond Hilton so I guess the Best Western is the "poor cousin" and is getting very little attention!

Yes, Thereuare, it is indeed the Best Western Richmond Hotel & Convention centre at 7551 Westminster Highway. I'll write a bit of a review when I've stayed there.

After trying for a couple of weeks to get a 4 star in this area, decided today to go down to a 3 star. 1st bid was $70 - rejected 2nd bid $80 accepted. Don't know much about this hotel but it's well located and there's an airport shuttle so should be fine. Lowest rate on their website is $143.00 Canadian so I think we saved about $40.00 US. By the way, Priceline says they offer a 4 star at the airport but I was unable to find any "wins" at all. Wonder if anyone has been lucky with a 4 star? As always, started the bid thru Savingsbarn.

Just returned from a 2 night "Hotwire" stay. This is a "boutique" hotel in an excellent location in terms of closeness to the harbour and to stores and restaurants. However the street itself is a downtown side street and is not very appealing. Some of the rooms have good harbour views but our 4th floor room at the back did not. On check in the clerk quite loudly said this is a "Hotwire" booking and went to the back to see which room to give us giving the impression that this was a "Hotwire" room. We were not given a choice of one or 2 beds. The hotel was quite empty and we had paid very little less than the Magnolia's own "Special" rate so I felt this was not necessary. Our room was spacious and very clean but it had a very, very tiny closet! OK for the 2 nights we were there but would have caused a problem had we been staying longer. The room was well furnished and had a very nice bathroom - although a liitle more light would have been useful- and Aveda toiletries were supplied. Continental breakfast was included and when we checked in the clerk told us that it would be "quite a spread". In fact, it was just adequate and unappealing. The room used is an Asian Fusion restaurant for lunch and dinner and no effort was made to brighten it up for breakfast or to have any of the tables set up. One simply took a liitle food and carried it to a bare table! We checked out the Fitness room which was quite small with only a few machines but we were offered passes to the local Y. Not nearly as convenient as a gym in the hotel. There did not appear to be a business centre either (although we didn't ask) but there is Internet access in the rooms if you travel with a laptop. Valet parking only $15.00 a day. Not unreasonable but the option to self-park would be nice., We go to Victoria quite often and have, on occasion, been lucky enough to get the Marriott on Priceline at a reasonable price. Otherwise we book direct at one of the 3 stars around the Inner Harbour and feel that either of those options is preferable to paying 4 star prices for the Magnolia.

The Magnolia is flagged as a "Best Value" and shows the following amenities: Boutique Hotel, Complimentary breakfast, Fitness centre, restaurant, golf nearby, Spa services. Thanks again

This is our first time using Hotwire (used the links from this site) and we're quite pleased with the results. I was pretty sure that this was the Magnolia based on the descriptions given on the Hotwire list for Victoria and it's probably a savings of about $15 Cdn per night when the exchange rates & fees are added in.No big deal but we'll take what we can get! I had tried bidding Priceline over the past 3 days but with no success and I've noticed that there haven't been any reported "wins" on Priceline for a long time at the 4 star level in Victoria. For the past couple of years it's been possible to snag the Marriott during the winter months for a good rate but it seems no more, even though the Marriott's posted rates are as low as $119.00 per night. This will be our first time staying at the Magnolia and we're looking forwrd to trying it out. By the way, breakfast is included. Thanks again to "Better Bidding". Knowing that this was very likely the Magnolia made the decision to book quite easy.

Sorry about that, Thereuare. for some reason I didn't think that "better checker" included Canada. Obviously I'm wrong! Of course, "Better checker" is a great tool!

If it were me, I'd check a few rates using Travelocity"]Travelocity or Expedia as a guide and then book directly with the hotel of my choice. If you go with a chain for which there's a link on the "Support Better Bidding"section of this board, do use that link to make your booking.

If it were me, Id book a cancellable back up and wait for some time. We stay in Vancouver a couple of times a year and have disovered that we often have to wait until close to the arrival date to get a good Priceline rate. Having said that it's a good idea to keep checking Hotwire and there's no harm in bidding on Priceline whenenver you fele like it. Are you looking for a 4star and what kind of price are you hoping to pay.? But remember thant neither Hotwire nor Priceline is cancellable.

If you'r a"starwood" member , remember to ask if they will accept your card for "extras". My son in law is also a starwood member and recently stayed at the Westin on Priceline and had no trouble in having his starwood status recognized. He had planned on calling ahead and asking if his number could be added to this reservation but he didn't get around to doing that. However, I have done that with my Marriott card on a couple of occasions and have always had my card honoured. They arrived at the Westin very late at night and asked for a King Room. Apparantly all the King Rooms except a "disabled" room were taken so they were offered it. They accepted and said the room was HUGE, They loved the Westin and thought the location great.

The remdel is well on its' way but not nearly finished. The expected date for completion is now the Spring of 2007. Tufty, if you haven't done so, do read my short review of this property. I stayed there last month on Priceline and had a gorgeous, renovated room. I'd suggest you ask if there are any available when you check in.

We have just returned from an overnight stay at the Hyatt and , as there are not any recent reviews on "better bidding"I decided to report on our experience. This hotel has a super location right in the heart of Vancouver. The lobby and public rooms have all been recently renovated as have some but not all of the guest rooms .We were told that this is an ongoing project. We arrived around 3pm and asked if they might have a "renovated" room available for us. Without hesitation, we were offered a room with 2 double beds on the 26th floor. The room had a view of the harbour even though office towers are all around and it was particularly wonderful at night . Our room was very modern, floor to ceiling windows, upscale modern furniture, flat screen TV , great beds and well appointed bathroom - though they were a bit short on toiletries, if I really want to be picky!. There was a mini bar plus coffee maker with complimentary coffee and a newspaper was delivered in the morning. There's also a safe and an Umbrella! Parking at $24.00 Cdn.is a bit pricey but this is Downtown Vancouver and we had in/out privileges. We didn't check out the recreation facilities or the pool nor did we eat in any of the restaurants. We were abosolutely delighted with this Priceline stay and would love to stay there again. However, I have been told that the non-renovated rooms really do need work so we might not feel the same if we had been given one of those. By the way, there's a Tim Hortons right next door which could be very useful if you want a quick inexpensive coffee or sandwich etc.!

Thereuare is, of course, absolutely correct. If you want to see something of Vancouver you'd be better off splitting your bid or staying downtown and taking a cab or the airporter out to the airport on the morning of your flight. It's not very easy or quick to get downtown from the airport unless your driving but then you've got the hassle of parking in Vancouver.

Yes, the "prevailing rate" (whatever that means) is now $309 for each of the 4 nights including Friday. When I checked early today, the rate for Friday was $349 and if I recall correctly the other 3 nights were $299. Things can sure change quickly! Do you think there is any particular day of the week or month that rates are adjusted.? I can't see a pattern.

Hi Thereuare, When I checked the Hyatt website this morning it was, as you said, more expensive for the Friday night than earlier in the week - $50.00 more, in fact. However, after your comment, for some reason I went back and now the Friday night has been reduced to the same price as the previous 3nights - AAA rate $278. (Still high though) or $200Cdn per night seniors rate for which we qualify (62plus at the Hyatt) In any case, I'm just telling you this because I broke my own rule about being patient this morning and it probably cost me $20.00 or so. Not complaining because it's still an excellent rate .

I've been trying for this for the last few days with no success. This morning I saw that there was a win for $110 at the Hyatt for July 18th to 22nd so I went ahead and tried again. I bid $105, 110, 120 and finally clicked at $130. I suspect the higher rate may be because it's Friday night only, who knows! Prior to today, I had been bidding only to $120 but our backup was $146Cdn so not too much difference and a much nicer place to stay. As always, booked through SavingsBarn.

Vancouver is always very expensive in Summer and hard to get but I've been noticing a couple of winning bids (both in this board and that other one!) that seem to be quite last minute. For example 10 days or so out. We've been considering an overnight stay ourselves July 21st so I've been watching the boards and I'll post separately if we go ahead with that. There may be no validity to my thoughts but I though I'd comment.

Yes it works perfectly. Thanks